Bhubaneswar: The state is undergoing a transformative phase in data governance and is committed towards building a resilient data ecosystem that empowers government departments and policymakers, highlighted Chief Secretary Manoj Ahuja during ‘Unlocking the Power of Data Exchange for Smart Governance’ forum at the Lok Seva Bhavan Convention Hall here recently. Ahuja also spoke about the commitment in shaping the upcoming State Data Policy, aimed at improving interoperability, accessibility, and evidence-based decision-making.
The event was organised by the Data, Policy, and Innovation Centre (DPIC), a five-year strategic partnership between the state government and the University of Chicago Trust (UCT), India, housed at the Electronics and Information Technology (E&IT) department. The forum focused on improving governance through effective data exchange and was graced by key figures from the state and national level.
The event featured presentations from notable experts, including Centre of Data for Public Good (CDPG) chairman Inder Gopal, who spoke about fostering a scalable and flexible ecosystem for open-source data exchange platforms. The team from the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) presented the ‘OpenSource Data Exchange Platform’, a tool already successfully implemented by CDPG in collaboration with various stakeholders, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development and the Government of Telangana. E&IT department principal secretary Vishal Kumar Dev discussed the efforts being made to leverage advanced data science tools and research methods to drive evidence-based decision-making in governance. He also expressed gratitude to the IISc for contributing to the forum’s success.
